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Monday, May 31, 2010

I have shabby chic'd the craft room chair today. I used the cushion cover that I was making as part of the sewing club monthly project. I really don't need another cushion in another type of fabric, so I decided I would give it an alternative use, and incorporate as the chair cover as I am trying to finish the unfinished sewing projects at the moment. This is the chair before:

This is the chair after:

I only have one unfinished project now, other than the back on the farm quilt, but it is an ongoing monthly project. The unfinished project is a sashimo table runner. I am thinking I may make it into a mug holder...not sure yet though. Just that I don't really need another table runner...and I would rather make something useful....will give it some more thought.....actually, I had better add another one to the UFO list, I still have the vintage pincushion that I am still doing the hand embroidery on....haven't been in the mood for that one lately though..don't know if I am really a handstitching person...

Sunday, May 30, 2010

I have done a little mini harvest from the vege garden this afternoon. Picked a chilli, some sweet potato and some green tomatoes. I let my tomatoes ripen inside, otherwise they always get brown rotting on them.

I have also taken a few pics of a few things growing right now.

The passionfruit vine is dripping with fruit...

There are lovely pumpkins growing...

I have finally managed to get some capsicums to grow...

This afternoon, I made up a pair of pyjama pants, using a pair I already have as a pattern. They have come up really well. I will probably make Kasey a matching pair as well, and will make Toni some if she would like some.

I have also dug over 1 of the vege gardens ths afternoon, and got rid of most of the weeds. Need to do the other side now, and will then re-plant it up hopefully over the next couple of weeks. I don't have too much in the diary this week, I have a sewing class on Wednesday to start on this sleepover bag,

but otherwise I have purposely kept the diary free, so that I can have some home time. I will probably mow, spend a little time in the garden and vege garden, and do some sewing. I really hope this week goes really, really slowly, I am really tired of the days flying by.....I wold really like time to slow down a lot....

I have decided to join in on the MAKE sew along. It is basically a bag and accessory project using a charm pack.

I find that doing sewing in structured classes all of the time can end up being very expensive. I would like to go back to the basics a little and start to put in to practice everything I have been learing at the classes. I have backed off on the classes a little this quarter, and while I still have something on most weeks to go to class and sew, I have pulled out of a couple of other classes, as I was getting a little overwhelmed. I do really like to social aspect of going to class though, and it does make you actually sit down and take the time to sew. I will try and head out today to get the charm pack and a few other bits and bobs. Toni is working in Cafe today so Kasey and I may call in and have lunch there while we are out. I'm a bit weary today after a very busy week, and it is quite windy outside, so will be a bit of a quieter day I think. I might try and get the sewing machine out later and do a little sewing.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

This has got to be the bargain of the year! When I took Toni to look at her car a couple of months ago, we were taking it for a test drive with the owner of the car in the back seat. As I was driving around, I spotted on the side of the road a green tote trolley bag, in a kerbside cleanup. I pulled over and asked Toni to run back and pick it up for me. The look on her face was priceless...she looked at me and said "No Way!!!" I got out and picked it up, and the handles were missing, I asked the young guy who owned to car to open the boot and he had to clear quite a few things out of the way to fit it in. It was sooo funny, Toni was so embarrassed. Anyway, this tote is worth about $180 to buy, as it is a purpose built scrapbooking trolley, and has lots of great pockets and the front section fans open to hold 12 x 12 papers and cardstock. I have had the handle repaired for $20, so that is all this has cost me. Damian picked it up for me a couple of days ago. It is fabulous, so now I just need to fill it up!

Here is also a pic of the Midwest Mod Pillows. I finished the third one on Monday, so here is the complete set.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

I wandered down to the gate this afternoon, quite late, to take the bins down for collection tonight. On the way back I checked the meter box, to see if the gate lights had flicked off at the circuit breaker, as they haven't been coming on lately. A little gecko ran along the meters, and out of the corner of my eye I saw something else moving, and assuming it was another gecko I ignored it. Something made me look a little closer, only to see a black snake slithering it's way back in behind the meter box board.....eewww.... made me shiver. Damian says it is more scared of me than I am of it....he definitely underestimates just how terrified I am of snakes. Why do I always seem to find them, not him??

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

I have finally finished the purse/handbag insert. I went to sewing class yesterday and finished the final cushion in the set of 3 that I have been making, and I had it finished by about 11am, so decided to finish the insert off in the afternoon. I hand sewed the binding last night. It is fantastic, and has definitely sorted out my handbag. It looks so simple to make, but it is so complicated. I can now find my mobile phone, instead of it being lost in the depths of the black hole they call my handbag.....

Today has been very busy so far. This morning by 8am I did the washing, put a red wine beef casserole in the slow cooker for dinner, had the caravan people out to value the Coromal caravan, and had the solar people finally arrive to put up our solar. We have been waiting just on 12 months for this to happen, and it finally has. We are just waiting now for the electricity company to come out and hook up the meter and we are ready to go, goodness knows how long that will take....

We have also finalised the purchase of the new caravan today, we have decided on a triple bunk Galaxy Odyssey offroad caravan. It is absolutely beautiful, and has a shower and toilet as well....(quietly clapping hands) The triple bunk takes up the same amount of room as a double bunk, and means if Michael comes he has somewhere to sleep, or if one of the girls wants to bring a friend when we go away, that they can do that also. They gave us a good trade in on our Coromal van, so overall we are quite happy, and saves the hassle of selling it privately. I also went out this afternoon and sorted out wireless access for Damian while he is working away, so he can check his emails and go online when he needs to. I had a lady come out this morning for a wedding quote, and have done that one up and also one from Saturday and sent those off, as well as ordering the flowers for next month's weddings. I have flowers arriving tomorrow for Friday and Saturday's weddings, so will get started on the Friday one tomorrow and Thursday. It is going to be a busy week, but by Saturday afternoon, I will hopefully be able to have a break for a few weeks, as I don't have any weddings until mid June. I also need to unpack our current caravan tomorrow, so that it can be taken to the caravan yard on Thursday when we pick up the new one. I also ordered Toni's formal dress today...she is happy about that, don't think my wallet is though.....

Sunday, May 23, 2010

We went looking at caravans yesterday. We have narrowed it down to 2 possibilities. We will get the yard to come out tomorrow and give us an amount for a trade in on our current van, and then make a decision. Today I have spent the day out with Toni formal dress shopping. The dress Toni has decided that she likes is over $600!! My goodness, I don't see the value in the dress.... I found one other one that was not quite as nice, but still beautiful for half price for $150....I am really hoping she decides on this one or finds something that is a little bit cheaper....the dearer one definitely does not look $500 better....I think the less expensive one is lovely as well, and she does like it....and I think if we dazzled it up a little with some diamante accents it will be just as lovely as the dearer one...Toni is going to have a look around locally tomorrow afternoon and then make a decision...

Friday, May 21, 2010

It is quite cool today, with a sprinkle of rain about. I was really tired this morning, and our plans to go and look at caravans today have fallen through, so I propped myself up with a new craft mag and a cuppa to warm up a little, and would have been quite happy to have a snooze, however, guilt overcame me, and I am now in the office trying to do the few things that I would rather not be doing.... I really need a push at the moment, I am feeling very unmotivated around the garden again....ho hum....and I am even a bit unmotivated towards the sewing and craft etc....must be the weather, I don't know....

I have also been having little bouts of anxiety....it really sucks to be honest, I have never, ever been an anxious person, but have suffered from this for the last 12 months or so, along with that other nasty 'D' word....I was feeling quite good when seeing my naturopath, but have gone a bit wayward with the diet and supplements in the last few weeks, as I was feeling much better, but I think that I need to reverse up a bit, and stick with this a little longer....will ring the naturopath shortly and organise for them to send me some refills...it is just soooo expensive, you order a few things and it cost a few hundred dollars!! However, feeling like this sucks, even Toni asked me this morning if I was feeling ok...

Over the last couple of months, I have concentrated on the more crafty blogs instead of the gardening type blogs and websites, and I think this is where my enthusiasm has waned a little, along with the fact that I don't seem to be able to get the vege garden to really bloom, it seems that I spend lots of time in there for not too much of a reward, this tends to dampen the enthusiasm quite a bit..... my garlic didn't take, which was really disappointing, the standards like pumpkin, sweet potato, rhubarb, asparagus, chillies and spring onions and the rampant mint always seem to soldier on, but I do have trouble with most other things at the minute. The tomato bushes are having a little re-fruit at the minute, but not much. I planted some sweetcorn, but only half a dozen or so of those took as well, I planted about 40 seeds, so that was disappointing as well. I seem to have been having problems since I purchased the diggers seeds, maybe I will try another supplier, I have also been having issues with getting up to the seedling supplier at the markets, as you need to get there really early to get what you want, and I mean 5.30 or so in the morning, and even then there is a line up, so that is why I purchased seeds as I wanted to avoid that line up every couple of weeks. I just seem to have a constant battle with things not growing other than the bloody weeds!!! I fertilised everything really well in March, and dug it all over and mulched etc, but have not had real success, so I really do believe it's more the seeds than anything else, as I have always had relatively good success, not as good as the real green thumbs out there, but pretty good. Anyway, I am just out of sorts right now, so need to deal with that, so I can continue on with the journey here at home.

We went and had a look at some caravans yesterday, as we are looking at upgrading our caravan. We currently have an 8 year old coromal poptop van, which is just beautiful, but we have decided we will go back to a van with bunks, so that when we do a travelling trip, we don't have to setup a tent etc for Toni everyday, and I do worry about her being out there in strange towns. We are also going to get one with a shower and toilet, as again, setting up the outdoor shower tent and toilet every day is also quite a pain day after day. Damian is also looking at going up north to work for a couple of weeks here and there, so we need enough accomodation for both himself and Michael, as currently we only have the queen bed and a smaller lounge which Kasey sleeps on, so we definitely need to go back to the bunks. Our first caravan had bunks, but the older kids decided they would like to go into tents, so we didn't worry about it so much with the Coromal. I am looking forward to the shower and toilet in the van, this will make things so much easier when camping. So we will probably go out tomorrow and have a look at some more, we are not sure yet if we will go new, or a year or 2 old, there isn't too much of a difference price wise to be honest, so whichever has the best features and is the best built for the money is probably the way we will go, we would dearly love a Kedron Top Ender, but...$120,000 is waaayyyy out of our price range, but they are the absolute pinnacle of beautifully built but extremely tough caravans...but we can't justify or afford that sort of money.....I would have liked to have headed away for the weekend, but I think it's too late, and we have a bit much to do this weekend as well, as Damian is heading away next weekend for a couple of weeks of work....oh well.... maybe the June long weekend will be the way to go...

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Well....what a busy time it has been the last week or so...the days are just blurring into one another. Last Thursday I spent all day running around and packing. Friday I prepped a wedding for Kirsty..her flowers ended up stunning..

I went to the scrapbooking retreat at Brookfield over the weekend with Ann. Did lots and lots of lovely pages:

This is Damian's mum as a little girl. I am doing an album for her 75th birthday next year, so started a few pages for her at the retreat. I got a few done, which makes me feel much better about getting it all done in plenty of time. These are the other pages I made:

Yesterday, I went to sewing class, and finished off 2 of the 3 cushions we are making. I absolutely love them, and I am going to put them on the white wicker set on our verandah. I just love the colours and the vibrancy. I am soooo proud of these, they look sooo professional.

I still have 1 more to do next Monday, which is about the size of a normal pillow. I want to make more of the round petal ones, but a bit smaller for the 2 chairs that go with this setting. I was supposed to go to a morning embroidery class this morning, but wasn't up to it, I am in need of a few quieter days at home. Have done heaps of washing today, and caught up on some wedding paperwork, and uploading some photos etc. I am definitely looking forward to a few quiet days at home this week, next week will busy up again, as I have 2 weddings at the end of the week.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

I have had a busy day today. I had to go over to the southside today to pick up the wedding flowers that I need to prep tomorrow, as they could not deliver in time, due to the large amount of demand over Mothers Day, it has taken a few days for supplies to start to be replenished, so they could not supply until today, meaning I wouldn't have gotten the flowers until tomorrow, which is too late for preparation. After this I went to Spotlight and purchased some tulle, satin and organza so I can make some flowers for scrapbooking. I then went to officeworks and had some photos printed, then to the supermarket. By the time all of this was unpacked when I got home, it was getting quite late. I had time to wash the car, then get dinner ready, and then I have packed up my scrapbooking supplies and clothes ready for the scrapbooking retreat this weekend, which I leave for tomorrow afternoon (late) When I got home this afternoon, I found the black snake that was here a few weeks ago dead on the verandah - Max has obviously had a go at it and killed it - they really do creep me out....I am really scared of snakes...I knew it was going to still be hanging around here somewhere...

I have been keeping a really close eye on Max to ensure that he wasn't bitten, he seems totally fine, is still as crazy as ever, has eaten all of his dinner etc...so I hope everything is going to be fine there....I don't even know if this is a venomous snake or not, hopefully it wasn't....I do feel sorry for it, every living thing has it's purpose, but just not at my backdoor!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

This morning was coffee morning with Tammy. Tammy is returning to the workforce tomorrow. We had a nice chat and will catch up again next week. I spent the afternoon plodding around home, mainly on the computer, and doing the mountain of washing (compliments of Toni not cleaning her room for about the last month, and hoarding the dirty laundry in her room!!!) and then tonight I went for the makeup class for my bag insert. I still have not finished it....it is a very confusing pattern, and because the instructor was teaching another class, I couldn't just zoom along with the rest of the class, I had to wait for her to finish what she was doing to give me some guidance on the parts I was having problems with. I think I spent just as much time unpicking as I did sewing, as there are so many parts to this project, it is really easy to get it wrong....very frustrating....I was going to sew a 2nd one for Mum, but I don't know if I can stand it.....Cheryl has said I can come along to the next class in a fortnight to finish it off, I think I will need to do that, as I don't know how I'll go at finishing it on my own....I may try and see if I can get the 2nd one up to the same point between now and then.....but I really don't like my chances much.....tomorrow is the BOM club, for the Back on the Farm quilt, I have a little bit of sewing to finish off on the first block, but will probably spend most of the day tracing while I have access to the lightbox for the next couple of blocks, so I can get that organised for sewing them up at the next class....it has just worked that I have had a lot of sewing classes this week, I normally would try to not have more than 1 any given week, with definitely no more than 2, but it has just worked out that way this week.....I think tracing may be a good way to spend some of the day - a bit of a quieter activity to allow me to zone out a bit..... :)

Monday, May 10, 2010

Had a lovely Mothers Day. Damian and I, along with Kasey, drove up to Kingaroy to have lunch with my Mum at the Pioneer restaurant. It is a 2 hour trip each way, so it was a long time in the car. Once home, we waited for Toni to get home and then headed in to Brisbane to have dinner with Damian's mum. It was a lot of driving, think we will split it up next time, so that I can enjoy the day as well. Kasey gave me a lovely box of Roses chocolates in the morning, with a lovely card that she had written on herself, and signed on behalf of her brother and sister. Toni also purchased me a couple of new charms for my Pandora bracelet, one of them being a gorgeous cow charm! Michael got me the Avatar DVD and a friends series 8 DVD. I was pretty well over it by the end of the day after all of the driving, which put a bit of a dampener on the day, but settled back when we got home and watched Underbelly, then went off to bed. Today I did the Midwest Modern Pillows class. This is a series of 3 classes, and we make 3 different cushions. I am doing mine in pinks and greens, and they are turning out stunning. I will post a photo of today's achievments soon. I am quite tired tonight, I think the last week has finally caught up with me. I have coffee morning in the morning, as Tammy and I have changed our day, as she is returning to work a couple of days a week, and a catch up sewing class tomorrow night for the purse insert class which I missed the 2nd one of due to my surgery (and bad memory!!) Will have to put dinner in the slow cooker tomorrow, as the class starts at six.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

This is a lovely wall hanging / table topper which I have been waiting on the pattern for, for quite a few months. The lady that had the pattern showed me the one she had made about 6 - 7 months ago, and I just loved it, and she got the pattern back off the craft ladies for me. I have copied all of the relevant parts, and hope to start on this sometime soon..... love it, love it, love it.....

Visitors

Busy Mum of 3. Nemma to 1 with another on the way. I keep heritage chooks and guinea fowl, and a couple of resident dogs. We live close to the big smoke on a couple of acres, and have 152 acres about 4 hours north, where we run some small scale cattle and a beautiful big bull. He keeps us in supply with some gorgeous little baby calves for our girls.